The inventive concepts relate to a pulse plasma apparatus and/or drive method thereof, and more particularly, to a pulse plasma apparatus and/or drive method thereof. According to some of the inventive concepts, when pulse plasma power is applied in the pulse plasma apparatus performing, for example, an etching process of a semiconductor substrate, which is placed between an upper electrode and a lower electrode in a process chamber of the plasma apparatus, a reflected wave from the process chamber may be reduced or minimized by using frequency tuning of pulse plasma power.
When the etching process is performed in the semiconductor substrate or the like by using the pulse plasma apparatus, power from a radio frequency (RF) power generator or an RF power source is coupled to an electrode inside a plasma process chamber through a matching network, which is dynamically tuned. The pulse plasma power, which is applied to an electrode in the plasma process chamber, is coupled to process gases in the plasma process chamber, and forms plasma to be used in the plasma process (e.g., plasma etching process). The matching network may minimize a reflected power of the plasma process chamber and maximize the amount of the RF power (e.g., the pulse plasma power) to be coupled to process gases to form the plasma. The matching network may be typically matched to 50Ω with a complex impedance of the plasma. In order to smooth the dynamic matching according to change of plasma characteristics during the plasma process, the matching network may be continuously adjusted so as to achieve and maintain a desired matching over the entire process.
Generally, a controller configured to control the plasma process also may control the matching network. Furthermore, the controller may measure reflected power from the matching network and judge whether the reflected power from the matching network is increased. When it is determined that the reflected power is increased, the controller may adjust a capacitance or an inductance of the matching network so as to match the RF power source with the plasma in the plasma process chamber.